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Toto Wolff says he will “not allow” Kimi Antonelli and George Russell’s Mercedes rivalry to turn into a repeat of the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg situation, and insists he would remove a driver if it escalated. Wolff said: "I will not allow it. That's never going to happen to me again. That's never going to happen to the team again. Simple. I'm just taking a driver out if he does that."
Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta says the Formula 1 title fight always “changes” after the summer shutdown. Resta said: "History tells us that the championship always changes after the summer shutdown. The pressure increases on the teams that are leading, but equally it increases on the teams trying to catch up. The environment becomes more intense, and every result carries more weight."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says his team need to keep delivering upgrades if they want to fight for wins consistently, with the 2026 pecking order coming down to what he calls a “race of upgrades”. Stella said: "Honestly, I still believe that if we want to be in a position to fight for victories consistently in the future, we need to keep our focus on delivering more upgrades. That is the plan, but we are not naive. We know that this will be the plan for all the teams. So I think, like it's always been in this 2026 season, it's a matter of a race of upgrades."
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies says the team is not satisfied with its 2026 progress until it has a car with the pace to win races on merit, after ending the first part of the season fourth in the constructors' standings. Mekies said: "Don't count on me to say that we are satisfied, because we are not. We will not be satisfied until we go back to have a race car that has the pace to win on merit. We don't sign for anything else than winning races."
Max Verstappen says Mercedes’ 19-year-old title leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been “rock solid” this season and that it is “really impressive” to watch. Verstappen said: "I think, if you look at the front, Kimi has done a really good job. Really strong, really solid, being the strongest in the team. I think, if he just keeps it going – of course, he's also been very unlucky sometimes, so that's been a bit of a shame – but as a 19-year-old, so far, I think he's been rock solid. That's really impressive to see as an outsider."
Haas returned to Japan’s Fuji Speedway this week for another fan-facing TPC event, running on Tuesday and Wednesday with the grandstands open. The team gave Toyota-backed drivers Sho Tsuboi and Nirei Fukuzumi track time in Formula 1 machinery, with Tsuboi making his second Haas test appearance and Fukuzumi completing his first-ever run in an F1 car.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team is still hoping to avoid taking an engine-penalty grid drop for Kimi Antonelli, but Monza “on paper” looks like a good place to serve one if needed. Wolff said: "In terms of engine penalties, I still very much hope we don't need to take it and we need to decide when that is, when we need to take one and which tracks. There could be one that can be very special for Kimi, but on paper it looks like it's a good place to take an engine penalty, so we need to speak to Marco [Antonelli, Kimi's father] whether we want to take an engine penalty in Monza."
Oliver Bearman admitted Lewis Hamilton’s improved form at Ferrari is “not ideal” for his own long-term hopes of getting a seat with the Scuderia, but said he is in no rush and is happy to keep learning at Haas. Bearman said: "Things have changed a lot in the last six months. As an F1 fan and a Lewis fan as well, it's pretty cool to see him performing at the level he is, and seeing him on the top step in Barcelona was quite a special moment. Of course, in terms of my future, that's not ideal, but I'm still young. I'm only 21. I'm not in a huge rush, and, for me, staying at Haas for the foreseeable [future] is not a bad thing."
Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack rejected Carlos Sainz's claim that the team’s Hungarian Grand Prix upgrade has given it the best chassis in the midfield. Krack said: "I don't think so."
Lando Norris says McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri has pushed him “an insane amount”, and that their rivalry has helped make him a better Formula 1 driver. Norris said: "He's pushed me an insane amount, too much for my liking. But that's what you need in F1; it's what you want. It made me a much better driver, last year especially. Rivalry is the key to becoming a better person at the same time."
Pirelli motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi says the tyre choice for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang will be based on data from Formula 1’s last visit to Malaysia in 2017. Marrafuschi said: "If I remember well, the last race in Malaysia was in 2017. Since 2011, we went [there] all the years, so we have a good history. 2017 was the first year with wider tyres at that time, compared to the previous one. And... it was reasonably close to what we have today. So I would base our decisions on 2017 results and would go for a choice in line with what we did that year."
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says he is “pretty confident” Fernando Alonso is enjoying his time with the team and that their relationship will continue, amid speculation over whether the two-time champion will stay beyond the current season. Newey said: "Obviously, Fernando is an amazing driver. He brings huge amounts to the team, both in his feedback and his ability. So, for us, of course it's important. I'm pretty confident that Fernando is enjoying his time with us and that we will continue with our relationship."
Sergio Perez says Max Verstappen’s “pure” leadership during their four seasons as Red Bull team-mates from 2021 to 2024 made him a faster Formula 1 driver. Perez said: "It really taught me how to lead the team as well. Max is a pure leader in how he pushes everyone around him in performance. He knows exactly what he needs to go quick and where he's lacking. He's a tremendous hard worker as well. So, learning that from Max and seeing that firsthand for four years in very different cars, that has definitely made me a faster driver."
United States Grand Prix boss Bobby Epstein says Formula 1’s ticket sales can keep growing because race venues are not limited by the kind of fixed capacity restrictions that apply in stadium sports, as he reports demand for October’s Austin event is tracking towards a record crowd. Epstein said: "Because we're not confined by the boundaries of a sports field, we're able to continue to grow the on-site experience. We can add more programming and more things for people to do, and I think that then allows the fan to bring a friend, and that friend can get engaged, and that just continues to work. It's much harder to do just in a seated arena or stadium."
Lewis Hamilton says the 2026 regulations are not especially suiting any one driving style, as he dismissed the idea that his improved form this season is down to the new generation of cars favouring him more than the ground-effect era. Hamilton said: "I don't think it's more particularly more rewarding to anybody. I think we've all had to make adjustments. I don't feel like I've made more adjustments than in any other era."
Lando Norris says he has driven better in the first half of the 2026 season than he did at the same point last year, even though he is not leading the championship. Norris said: "I think in terms of my driving, and my own performance as a driver, honestly, I'm very happy. I feel like I have been doing a good job of maximising the car's potential. I feel like I've driven better in this half of the season than I probably did to this point last year, to a certain extent, but sadly I'm not leading the championship."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team expects to decide earlier than last year when to shift its development focus from the 2026 car to its 2027 project. Mekies said: "I don't know for the other guys, what is sure is that at some stage we'll need to make a call on the balance between this year and next year. I expect that to happen earlier than what we have done last year. Especially as the regulations are now what they are. So we will decide."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull must find more performance and deal with issues in its current package in the second half of the season, with the team still without a grand prix win so far this year. Verstappen said: "Plus, we need to find more performance. I mean, it's as simple as that at the end of the day. Then, besides finding more performance, just not having the issues as well with the current package, let's say, that we have."
George Russell said his first Formula 1 test for Mercedes in 2017 left him “totally shocked” by the car’s speed and with “bloodshot” eyes because of the G-force. George Russell said: "I remember just being totally shocked by the speed of the car. It was a very hot day, I remember, I think it was almost 40 degrees. At the end of the test, my eyes were bloodshot because of the G-Force. Two days in a row, as your first official test in F1 at the Hungaroring in the 2017 car, which was exceptionally quick, it was a tough entry."
Lando Norris has criticised paparazzi intrusions after detailing how he was followed for 40 minutes through London on the way to a friend’s house for dinner. Speaking to the Independent, the McLaren driver said the experience left him feeling “more violated” and insisted there are “boundaries” and things he “won’t accept”. In the post-race press conference after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris also shut down questions about his summer break plans, saying: “Oh, this has got nothing to do with anyone,” before adding he will spend time with friends and family and “play a bit of golf and padel”.
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